Greyhound dogs found with drugs in their system, injuries at Southland

One organization opposed to Greyhound racing said recent documents prove the racing at Southland is inhumane. They said the documents show dogs break their legs and test positive for drugs.

Grey2K wants to get rid of Greyhound racing. But, Southland said there is nothing inhumane about its racing.

"There are significant humane problems at Southland that we believe go against mainstream values about dogs," Carey Theil of Grey2K said.

Theil cites one dog who tested positive for a by-product of cocaine. It's believed the drug was transferred from two helpers who tested positive for cocaine.

The kennel workers were fined and their licenses were suspended by the Arkansas Racing commission. That suspension is under appeal.

Other dogs recently tested positive for another drug, but it may have been from their food.

Theil said some dogs have had broken legs.

Video footage shows some dogs running into each other during a race.

Southland's Director of Racing said the track has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drugs and the greyhounds. That is why the fines and suspensions have happened, according to the director. He said there are frequent meetings about the track safety and if the greyhounds get hurt.

"We even had a fund set up to make sure that if an injury does occur, the greyhound is properly taken care of," he said.

That includes adoption if the dog's career is over.

"We're a zero kill shop. we don't believe we do any of that. We don't believe in it," he said.

When asked how Southland compares to other race tracks, Theil said Southland isn't the most problematic facility.

"Southland is a relatively high class track compared to other facilities so, in some ways, I think things would be better for greyhounds at Southland than they would be at other facilities," Theil said. However, he clarified that there are still problems at Southland that he feels need to be addressed.